Postdisaster donations from members of the public are an important form of social relief. For example, the Red Cross in China received more than CNY 7 billion (USD 1 billion) in public donations in 2017 (Chinese Red Cross Foundation, 2020). Thus, research has explored the antecedents and contextual factors of willingness to donate, such as one’s identification, mortality salience, attitude, and traditional norms (Boenigk & Helmig, 2013; Cai & Wyer, 2015; Freeman et al., 2009; Masser et al., 2009; Rocheleau, 2013; Swann et al., 2012).

However, some issues still need to be addressed. First, while previous studies have explored the effect of individual traits or prosocial motivations on intention to donate (Baberini et al., 2015; Mohs & Hübner, 2013; Young & Durwin, 2013), the role of the vividness of media coverage has not received enough attention. Further, some research has indicated that adequacy of information (Bachke et al., 2017) and message framing (Chien & Chang, 2015) affect donation. However, the relationship between the vividness of media coverage of the disaster and the willingness to donate is still unclear. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms need to be investigated to gain a whole picture of the factors influencing willingness to donate (Segal et al., 2018; Zagefka & James, 2015).

Thus, we explored how the vividness of media coverage affects an audience’s intention to donate. According to affective events theory (Beal et al., 2005; Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996), the way in which an event is described influences individuals’ interpretation of that event, which, in turn, affects individual behavior patterns. Thus, individuals exposed to vivid descriptions of a disaster will show more emotional reactions, which will result in a greater intention to donate. We proposed that when disaster descriptions are more vivid, individuals will experience a higher level of sympathy and be more willing to donate. In contrast, when the description of a disaster is more objective, individuals will show a lower level of sympathy and be less willing to donate.

Previous research has indicated that positive work events (e.g., praise from a supervisor) can trigger an individual’s positive emotions (Mignonac & Herrbach, 2004), whereas negative events (e.g., job stress) can stimulate negative emotions (Greenidge & Coyne, 2014). Consistent with this, Västfjäll et al. (2008) found that an individual’s thinking about a negative event (e.g., a tsunami) can produce negative emotions (e.g., displeasure, sadness, and depression).

For outsiders who are not involved in a disaster, their judgment of the event is influenced by the vividness or objectiveness of the media coverage about the disaster situation. According to the risk-as-feelings hypothesis (Haidt, 2001; Kahneman, 2003; Loewenstein et al., 2001), vivid versus objective depictions cause the audience to experience different levels of risk perception of the event, thus producing different emotional responses (Bell, 1982; Loewenstein et al., 2001; Mellers et al., 2010). Therefore, we anticipated that when a disaster is described vividly the audience will exhibit a higher level of sympathy, and when a disaster is described objectively the audience will show a lower level of sympathy.

Working models of behavior have demonstrated that an individual’s behavior in any given situation will be influenced largely by their emotional responses (Collins & Read, 1994). Consistent with this, previous research has indicated that anxiety is positively related to individuals’ conflict behaviors (Collins, 1996) and that positive emotions tend to stimulate individuals to engage in fewer delinquent activities (Windle, 2000). Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: The vividness of a disaster description will be positively related to intention to donate.

Sympathy, which refers to other-oriented emotional reactions occurring in response to another individual’s emotional state or condition (Goetz et al., 2010), has been found to be positively related to prosocial behavior (Sze et al., 2012), including altruistic behavior (de Waal, 2008). Consistent with this conclusion, research has demonstrated that individuals with a high (vs. low) level of sympathy show more motivation to donate to individuals in need (Baberini et al., 2015; Carlo et al., 2007; Small et al., 2007).

Affective events theory (Beal et al., 2005; Weiss & Beal, 2005; Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996) suggests that individuals’ perception of an event stimulates their emotions, which, in turn, shape their behavioral patterns. Previous research has indicated that the interpretation of stressful events in organizations affects individuals’ emotions, which influences their organizational commitment and absenteeism (Avey et al., 2008; Martin et al., 2005).

After a disaster, individuals judge its severity based on the information provided by the media. If an individual interprets the disaster as very serious, their sympathy is stimulated, which results in more willingness to donate to people affected by the event (Cohen & Hoffner, 2013; Verhaert & Van den Poel, 2011). We anticipated that greater vividness of a disaster description would evoke a higher level of sympathy in an audience and promote their willingness to donate; conversely, greater objectiveness of the description may arouse a lower level of sympathy and suppress the intention to donate. Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: Sympathy will mediate the relationship between the vividness of a disaster description and the intention to donate.

We first investigated the relationship between the type of description (vivid vs. objective) used as media coverage of a disaster (flood scenario) and willingness to donate (Study 1). Next, we controlled for factors that might affect individuals’ willingness to donate, such as age, gender, and mood, and investigated the effect of the description (vivid vs. objective) of a disaster (earthquake scenario) on willingness to donate (Study 2). Finally, we conducted an experimental study (Study 3) and a field study (Study 4) to examine the mechanism of disaster description vividness on willingness to donate.

Study 1

Method

Participants and Design
Participants in this study were 84 students in a marketing class at Zhejiang University (51 men, 33 women; M_age = 20.9 years, SD = 1.45, range = 18–24). We explained that we were conducting a donation decision experiment and asked for their willingness to participate. Students who agreed to participate filled out a paper questionnaire and were each given CNY 20 (USD 3.00). We assured respondents that the results would be used only for academic research purposes. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 41 received an objective description and 43 a vivid description.

Procedure
Consistent with previous research (Loewenstein et al., 2001), we manipulated the event media coverage shown to the participants by using either a vivid or an objective description. The objective description of the flood was as follows:

Recently, a flood disaster occurred in Area S. The flood disaster caused great losses to the local area. Statistics show that the flood disaster caused 26 deaths and 163 injuries, and that economic and property losses reached CNY 31,467,500.

The vivid description of the flood was as follows:

Recently, a flood disaster occurred in Area S. The flood disaster caused great losses to the local area. Statistics show that the flood disaster caused 26 deaths and 163 injuries, and that economic and property losses reached CNY 31,467,500. In the flood, many people were injured due to the collapse of houses, some women and children disappeared in the flood, and many families were separated.

After reading the scenario materials, participants rated the vividness of the written material with a single item: “In the materials I read, the description of the accident is very vivid.” Then, they completed four items to report their willingness to donate (Baker & Churchill, 1977; Farley & Stasson, 2003). A sample item for willingness to donate is “I wish to donate money as soon as possible” (α = .84). Items were rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree.

Results

Participants in the vivid description group rated vividness significantly more highly (M = 4.98, SD = 0.99) than did those in the objective description group (M = 1.95, SD = 0.86), t(83) = 18.02, p < .001. Thus, our manipulation of the vividness of the disaster description was effective.

We used a two-way analysis of variance to test the effect of the description of the event on individuals’ willingness to donate money. The results show there was a significant effect of description vividness on intention to donate, F(1, 82) = 12.34, p < .001, such that participants who were given a vivid description of a disaster showed higher levels of willingness to donate their money compared with individuals who were given an objective description.

Discussion

In Study 1 we examined the relationship between the vividness of a disaster event’s description and an individual’s donation intention. This study is an extension of previous work on the antecedents of intention to donate (Bachke et al., 2017). However, some limitations still need to be addressed. First, we studied the effect of the description of a disaster using a flood scenario in Study 1, so the findings might be limited to this specific context. Second, we did not control for variables that might influence the participants’ affective experience, such as positive or negative affect. Previous empirical research has provided evidence that affect may influence willingness to donate (Farley & Stasson, 2003; Freeman et al., 2009), so we conducted Study 2 to address these limitations.

Study 2

We conducted Study 2 to address the limitation that affect might have been present while manipulating the disaster descriptions in Study 1. Previous research has indicated that individuals’ emotions might affect their prosocial behavior (Liu et al., 2015), so we controlled for the positive and negative affect of participants in Study 2, along with their age and gender.

Method

Participants and Design
The participants were 80 students from Zhejiang University (18 men, 62 women; M_age = 22.1 years, SD = 1.07, range = 20–25), who completed the experiment in exchange for CNY 30 (USD 4.50). They were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 34 participants received a vivid description and 46 received an objective description.

Procedure
First, following previous research, before the start of the experiment we asked all participants to report their positive and negative affect in the past week. Positive affect, including being happy, calm, relaxed, elated, or pleased, was measured on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree. A sample item is “I felt happy during the past week” (α = .77). Negative affect, including being unhappy, angry, afraid, sad, or depressed, was measured on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree. A sample item is “I felt unhappy during the past week” (α = .84; Watson et al., 1988).

Consistent with previous research (Loewenstein et al., 2001), we manipulated the event by using either a vivid or an objective description. The objective description was as follows:

Recently, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in Area A. The disaster caused many casualties and severe economic losses. Statistics indicate that the earthquake caused 265 deaths and 1,636 injuries and that economic and property losses amounted to CNY 43,146,750.

The vivid description was as follows:

Recently, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in Area A. The disaster caused many casualties and severe economic losses. The earthquake led to homes collapsing, and some families lost their homes entirely. Some people sustained broken bones. Women and children were buried in their houses and could not be rescued. Many families were separated.

After reading the scenario materials, participants were asked to rate the vividness of the description on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree, as in Study 1, and complete a measure of intention to donate (α = .88).

Results

The results demonstrate that our manipulation of the vividness of the disaster description was effective (vivid description group, M = 5.03, SD = 0.90; objective description group, M = 2.35, SD = 1.45), t(79) = 17.13, p < .001.

Table 1 displays the means, standard deviations, and correlations of variables in Study 2. The results suggest that the vividness of a disaster description was significantly and positively related to willingness to donate money, which provides preliminary support for our hypothesis.

We used hierarchical regression analysis to test the effect of event description vividness on individuals’ willingness to donate (see Table 2). Controlling for age, gender, and positive and negative affect, we entered the description of the disaster into the equation and found that the vividness of the description was positively related to individuals’ willingness to donate (b = .50, p < .01; ΔR² = .11, p < .01). These findings demonstrate that participants who were provided with vivid (vs. objective) descriptions of a disaster tended to express more intention to donate to people who suffered in the disaster.

Discussion

In this study we investigated the mediating role of sympathy in the relationship between vividness of a disaster event description and intention to donate, in response to calls for revealing the underlying mechanism of integrating one’s intention to donate (Zagefka & James, 2015). We also controlled for participants’ age and gender and found that, in general, women had a stronger intention to donate. However, our measurement of willingness to donate was based on self-reported intention. To enhance the validity of the study, it is necessary to use another measurement method to replicate this conclusion, such as the amount of money that one wishes to donate. We conducted Study 3 to address this limitation.

We did not find that participants’ general positive or negative affect impacted on their intention to donate, which is inconsistent with the findings of previous research (Liu et al., 2015). This might be because donation is different from the other prosocial behaviors examined in prior work that lead to a loss of property or money. Thus, our respondents may have had a more complex association with their intention to donate, in that they did not view donation in this loss context.

Study 3

Having established the effect of a vivid description of a disaster on individuals’ willingness to donate, we conducted Study 3 with a volcanic disaster scenario to explore the mediating effect of sympathy. We wanted to demonstrate whether a vivid description of a disaster fosters the intention to donate money by triggering high levels of sympathy, and whether objective descriptions suppress the intention to donate by stimulating low levels of sympathy. To enhance the validity of the study, we also asked participants to report the exact amount of money they wished to donate (Freeman et al., 2009).

Method

Participants and Design
Similar to Study 1, we recruited 73 Zheijang University students (28 men, 45 women; M_age = 20.5 years, SD = 1.19, range = 18–23) to participate in exchange for CNY 30. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 42 participants received an objective description and 31 participants received a vivid description. Since the distribution of the amount of money and monthly income of the participants did not follow a normal distribution, we used a logarithm (log₁₀) for these two variables.

Procedure
As with Study 2, we first asked all participants to report their positive affect (α = .76) and negative affect (α = .87) for the week before the experiment started. Then, we manipulated the description of the volcanic disaster in vivid or objective terms. The objective description was as follows:

Recently, a volcanic eruption occurred in Area S. The disaster caused many casualties and severe economic losses. Statistics indicate that the eruption caused 26 deaths and 163 injuries and that economic and property losses amounted to CNY 31,467,500.

The vivid description was as follows:

Recently, a volcanic eruption occurred in Area S. The disaster caused many casualties and severe economic losses. Statistics indicate that the eruption caused 26 deaths and 163 injuries and that economic and property losses amounted to CNY 31,467,500. Some people sustained broken bones, and others were buried by volcanic ash and disappeared. Many families became separated.

After reading the scenario materials, participants rated the vividness of the written material on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree, as in Study 1, and reported their sympathy with three items (Vossen et al., 2015). A sample item is “When seeing this disaster information, I became sad” (α = .89). Items were rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree. Respondents also reported the amount of money that they were willing to donate. According to the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), differences in economic status among participants might affect their willingness to donate money. We therefore controlled for monthly income (the participants are students, and their monthly income is the amount of money provided by their parents). We used the item “My monthly pocket money is __.”

Results

The results indicate that the manipulation of the vividness of the disaster description was effective (vivid description group, M = 4.45, SD = 0.96; objective description group, M = 3.02, SD = 0.87), t(71) = 44.01, p < .001.

Table 3 displays the means, standard deviations, and correlations among the variables in Study 3. The correlation analysis results indicate that the vividness of a disaster description was significantly and positively related to the amount of money the participants were willing to donate (b = .25, p < .05), and that sympathy was significantly and positively related to the amount of money they were willing to donate (b = .43, p < .01), which provides some support for our hypothesis.

As in Study 2, we used hierarchical regression analysis to test the effect of the event description on individuals’ willingness to donate. As shown in Table 4, we first controlled for participants’ age, gender, positive affect, negative affect, and monthly income. Then we entered the description of the disaster into the equation and found that the vividness of the description was positively related to the amount of money that participants wanted to donate (b = 0.30, p < .05; ΔR² = .09, p < .05). Finally, we entered sympathy into the equation and found that the effect of vividness of the description on the amount of money that participants wanted to donate was nonsignificant (b = 0.21, ns); however, the effect of sympathy on the amount of money they wanted to donate was positively significant (b = 0.12, p < .01; ΔR² = .12, p < .01). These findings demonstrate that vivid descriptions of a disaster fostered audience donation intention by triggering high levels of sympathy.

Discussion

In this study we tested the mediating role of sympathy in the relationship between the vividness and donation intention. As with Studies 1 and 2, we investigated the association and mechanism of how disaster description vividness influences intention to donate. However, our first three studies were each conducted in experimental settings. To enhance the external validity of the findings, it is necessary to replicate the study in a field setting.

Study 4

Method

Participants and Design
To replicate the results from the experimental study above, we conducted a field study with people living in a southeastern city in Mainland China to examine donation intention in real life. We used a survey design in which individuals rated their positive and negative mood at Time 1, then 6 hours later (Time 2) rated the vividness of the event description, and their sympathy and donation intention. There were 206 respondents at Time 1 (response rate = 98.1%). Of these, 197 completed the survey at Time 2 (response rate = 95.6%). The sample comprised 101 men and 96 women, and the mean age was 34.5 years (SD = 9.97, range = 18–65).

Measures
We first asked all participants to report their positive (α = .75) and negative (α = .84) affect over the past week. Six hours later, we asked them to read a description of a flood disaster in either vivid or objective terms, as in Study 1. After reading the scenario materials, participants rated the vividness of the media coverage, as in Study 1. Items for rating vividness were “I think the content of the materials is vivid,” “I think the content of the materials is engaging,” and “I think the content of the publicity materials is very specific” (α = .88). Then, we rated the perception of sympathy (as in Study 3, α = .76) and donation intention (as in Study 2, α = .82). Items were rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree.

Results

Table 5 shows the descriptive statistics and correlations among the variables in Study 4. Results show that the vividness of the disaster description was significantly and positively related to donation intention (b = 0.18, p < .05), and that the vividness of the description was positively related to sympathy (b = 0.25, p< .01). Sympathy was, in turn, significantly and positively related to donation intention (b = 0.34, p < .01), which provides some support for our hypothesis.

We used the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Model 4; Hayes, 2012) to test the mediating effect of sympathy. Controlling for age and gender, we found that individuals’ perception of the vividness of the media coverage was positively related to their sympathy (see Table 6, b = 0.17, p < .01), and sympathy was positively related to donation intention (b = 0.21, p < .01). A bootstrapping analysis with 10,000 resamples revealed an indirect effect of the vividness of the media coverage on donation intention by stimulating sympathy (b = 0.04, 95% confidence interval [0.015, 0.067]).

Discussion

We used a field study design to investigate the association between the vividness of a disaster description and intention to donate. The results confirmed our hypotheses and enhanced the validity of our previous findings, and also align with the findings of other researchers (e.g., Baberini et al., 2015). Moreover, we found that participants’ negative emotions affected their sympathy and willingness to donate in the regression model (see Table 6), but these variables had no significant correlations, which might be due to multicollinearity of these variables (Baron & Kenny, 1986).

General Discussion

Across four studies, we showed a link between the vividness of a disaster description and individuals’ willingness to donate money, and the mechanism through which this effect operated. Studies 1–3 were experimental. Study 1 investigated the association between the vividness of the description of a flood disaster and intention to donate. Study 2 focused on an earthquake disaster and took participants’ control variables into account. Study 3 focused on a volcanic eruption disaster and examined the mediating role of sympathy. Study 4 was a field study and replicated the mediating model. Our findings demonstrate a more vivid (vs. objective) disaster description fostered an audience’s willingness to donate by triggering higher levels of sympathy.

Previous research has explored antecedents of individuals’ intention to donate, such as social dominance orientation (Freeman et al., 2009), individual moral identity (Cai & Wyer, 2015; Winterich et al., 2009, 2013), cognitive attitudes (Conner et al., 2013; Rocheleau, 2013), perception of subjective norms (Hyde & White, 2009; Kashif & de Run, 2015), and empathy (Cohen & Hoffner, 2013; Verhaert & Van den Poel, 2011). Our research further demonstrates that the vividness of a disaster description can influence willingness to donate to people affected by the disaster. Thus, we have extended previous research and enhanced understanding of postdisaster donation behavior.

According to affective events theory, individuals’ perception of events in the environment can shape their behavior by acting on individual emotions (Weiss & Beal, 2005; Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996). Previous research based on the theory of planned behavior has indicated that self-attitude and subjective norms influence individuals’ intention to donate (Holdershaw et al., 2011; Hyde & White, 2009; Kashif & de Run, 2015; Knowles et al., 2012; Rocheleau, 2013; Smith & McSweeney, 2007), and according to social identification theory, individuals’ attachment to their group or organization tends to encourage them to donate (Boenigk & Helmig, 2013; Swann et al., 2012). In contrast to individual donations in general situations (Hyde & White, 2009; Knowles et al., 2012; Masser et al., 2009), the intention to donate after a disaster in response to media publicity may not be the result of individuals’ rational planning but the product of emotional affect. Drawing on affective events theory, our research has shown that the vividness of a disaster description fosters an audience’s willingness to donate by stimulating their sympathy. Thus, our findings contribute to understanding of the mechanisms through which the vividness of a disaster description influences intention to donate.

Additionally, our research may provide inspiration for public welfare institutions seeking to enhance willingness to donate after disasters. Our findings demonstrate that the vividness of a disaster description can foster the public’s intention to donate money because publicity that is engaging increases their sympathy. Therefore, vivid and graphic media coverage should be implemented to encourage charitable emotions in the general public, and the individuals who are in need of donations should be specified.

Limitations and Directions for Future Research

There are several limitations in our study. First, although we explored the mechanism through which the vividness of a disaster description affects donation intention, there are possible alternative explanations for this relationship. For example, the vividness of a disaster description may stimulate individuals’ motivation to achieve their social values and thus motivate their intention to donate. Future research could explore the mediating role of motivation to achieve social values. Second, to enhance the validity of our study, we measured individuals’ donation intention. However, donation intention is not the same as actual donation behavior. Therefore, by using big data research methods, future studies could explore the relationship between the vividness of a disaster description and the amount of money actually donated by individuals, thereby enhancing the power of our findings. Moreover, the experimental materials should be improved in future studies. For example, in Study 1, the texts used in each condition should be kept a similar length, and in Study 2, as the deaths and injuries information was mentioned in the objective report condition, this should also be included in the detailed vivid description.

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This paper was supported by grants from the National Social Science Fund of China (21&

ZD184) and the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (#LY19G020009).

Yanbin Liu, Business School, NingboTech University, Qianhu South Road 1, 315100, Ningbo, People’s Republic of China. Email: [email protected]